Boys allowed to play in their School Band Program

Has anyone heard of their kids playing in their school band. Are they able to play some of the instruments. Now I know there may be some that they can not play. My son is twelve and has good lung capacity and diaphram muscle. Woulld there be an instrument that woudl be good for him?

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my son is 12 and has been playing the clarinet for 2 yrs . he does good. His arms do get tired holding it but not too bad. He does have a kind of stand that he can use to help hold it if he wants but he hasn't used it yet. His band teacher is very understanding and if Ryan needs to rest his arms he does. I say go for it!

Our son is 11 and started the clarinet also this year. We wanted something he'd be able to enjoy playing as long as possible. The band teacher told me that reed instruments require less forceful "blowing" than brass instruments, so we ruled out trumpets, trombones and such. Percussion has a lot of standing, so we ruled that out. A light instrument is good - like a flute or piccolo- but he was less than enthusiastic about those - and you have to hold those up in the air, which can get tiring. Clarinet is a reed instrument, not too heavy, disassembles into a small case, and you hold it downwards, so we went with that. It came with a strap that goes around your neck, which would make it easier on the arms, but he hasn't used it yet.

You want to get a decent model also. We have 2 - one for school and one for home, so he doesn't have to carry it - and my son says the newer, more expensive one is easier for him to play without it squeaking. Used ones are all over Ebay.

Look up Pat Moeschen on here. He's a music teacher, he'd be a good person to answer your question.

My son started band this year and he started the year doing saxophone but his heart was with percussion. Percussion does require standing but Justin sits while he plays. His band teacher has accommodated his needs.

Jacob played trumpet until he was 16. Infact he and another boy were the 1st trumpet section. He had more and more trouble getting the high notes as he got older and he then decided it wasn't worth the fatique. His PFT's were really good. At age 17 his PFTs fell but were in the low range of normal. Keep in mind to get light horn as he would neeed to rest the trumpet on the scooter handles.

My son, 16, has played the clarinet since he was about 10. He loves it and he can rest his arms on his wheelchair armrests with that instrument. The respiratory therapist that he sees says it is great for him to play.

My son is 12, almost 13. He really wanted to play the saxophone but it was too huge and heavy for him. I did some research and found an instrument called an Electronic Wind Instrument. It can sound like any wind instrument by changing the settings and is fingered like a saxophone. It looks very "cool" and is plugged into an amp like an electric guitar. I found a very small amp that my son keeps at school. The instrument is very light. He can listen via headphones when he is learning or practicing. His band teacher was very excited about him using this instrument and it has worked out great. The link is below - check it out. My son has the Akai4000S but I believe Yamaha makes a similar instrument. There are lots of video clips on the net of professional musicians playing these instruments.